Pen Review – Pilot Metropolitan

The Pilot Metropolitan has been much-discussed over the last several months. It’s praised for being a very well-behaved pen, particularly for its rather low price point. It’s an all-metal body with a pretty standard cigar-shaped design (albeit a skinny cigar.) The steel nib has a touch of spring to it.

I’m all for a good value, but the Metropolitan has a few things that keeps it from being one of my favorite pens. For starters, it is a little too light for my liking. And the section is a little narrower than I like. But the thing that really, really drives me nuts is Pilot’s decision to use a proprietary converter and cartridge system…especially since I have had a lot of issues with their converters, and I really don’t like the ink in their cartridges. I can work around it, but I feel like I shouldn’t have to. (See the video for a nice little rant on the subject.)

All in all, it is a decent pen, that writes pretty well. It works well. I did have to adjust the tines slightly to get rid of a touch of scratchiness, but other than that, it’s behaved pretty well.

The clip is springy, but feels like it could be pretty easily bent out of shape.

The step up between the section and the barrel is significant. The glossy strip in the middle is nice, though.

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